Effectiveness decisive, USA wins last friendly over Czechs

The friendly match started with a high pace. The Czechs and the Americans fought for every meter of ice, but fans had to wait for the first chance until the fourth minute when Kulich shot from the slot. Shortly afterward, the Americans were eliminated for delaying the game, thanks to which both goalkeepers had more work to do.

And paradoxically, first Jan Špunar. After an unexpected rebound of the puck at the blue line, Brennan Ali got into the break, but he only shot into the shoulder of the Czech goalkeeper. Subsequently, the Czechs could also open the score of the match, when Kulich finished outnumbering.

However, the American goalkeeper made a nice save, as well as later against Cibulka and Soukup. Frequent penalties on both sides caused the game to spill over from side to side. Tough fights and frequent individual mistakes were seen.

At the very end of the third, the USA team went into a quick break and Gavin Heayes scored with a successful shot close to the post. The same player drew attention to himself right after the break with a shot from the side. Špunar was ready to save, but he could not neutralize the later American power-play combination when Cam Lund scored to 2:0 at the time 20:51.

The Czechs were paralyzed by his goal, their interplay and defense were unsuccessful. Fortunately for them, the break of Jimmy Clark was neutralized by Špunar. Afterward, Šalé and Rymon got into promising slot chances and Soukup was in the best position after a cross pass, but Szyszka made perfect save.

McNicholas replaced the American number one in the middle of the match. And after seven minutes, he collected. Prčík’s shot from the blue was deflected by Adam Jecho. The Czechs continued in their improved movement even after the break, and their efforts paid off as early as 41:47. Dominik Petr pushed through the American defender and nicely passed to Matěj Prčík. He was no longer wrong and changed the score to 2:2.

Suddenly, the Czechs played better. But in the 49th minute, three Americans got into renumbering and Jimmy Clark simply finished to the empty net. Only 84 seconds later, Zam Plante succeeded from an angle, because his pass was deflected by Czech Hujer. However, the home team did not give up, Robin Sapoušek skated through American defense and scored the third Czech goal with a backhand.

However, the Czech talents did not score anymore. On the contrary, DeAngelo hit an empty Czech goal in their powerplay. Therefore, the Czechs have to wait until next week for the first victory from Břeclav.